ROOTED - Wednesday, March 25, 2026

1 Chronicles 21:23-24

23 Then Ornan
said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him.
See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood
and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.” 24 But
King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will
not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that
cost me nothing.”

Reflection: Offerings

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

David would take a census, an abominable act to God. As
punishment, God gave David three choices: 1) famine in the land for three
years, 2) nations to rise against them, or 3) a plague to come upon the people
for three months. Rather than allow God’s people to be overtaken by God’s
enemies, David chooses the plague/pestilence. 70,000 of the Children of Israel
are killed. Even as the Lord tells the angel to stop the pestilence
(interesting how sickness and plague can be directly from God’s hand as a
judgment!), David sought to make an offering to the Lord such that God would
consider ending the plague. The angel of the Lord tells David to go to Ornan,
evidently a rich man with a large field, and make a sacrifice there. Ornan then
offers David the choice of any of his animals for the offering, but David
refuses. “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for
the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me
nothing.”

I have often said that offering to God must have an element of
faith attached to it. If it has no faith, it does not honor God. The rich man
gave his tithe, while the widow gave her mite (all she had). Only, Jesus said,
was the widow’s mite really valuable. Her gift required faith. Similarly,
David’s offering had to cost him something. There had to be an element of pain
and sacrifice, otherwise it was meaningless (to God, at least). David refused
to offer something to God that cost him nothing… something that had no
“sacrifice” to it.

It is this way in our lives. The things that we do in honor to God
cannot be too easy, or they aren’t really valuable. Often, for example, I feel
too tired to read the scriptures or pray. Or I do them with half of my
attention, being distracted by things around me. As I see it, this dishonors
God. Put energy and effort behind what you do for God. It will cost you some
extra energy and effort, but don’t “phone it in.” It will cost you some effort
but the Christian life in worship must be sacrificial, or it is not truly
honoring to God.

Prayer

Lord, may we put real sacrificial effort into our worship and our
Christian service. Help us to not offer things to you that are too easy!